All Of Donna's Christmases
by darkestboy
Summary: Donna takes a trip down memory lane as she remembers all of her previous Christmases with some help from the Doctor and a mysterious hallway. Set between Planet Of The Ood and The Sontaran Stratagem.


**Name: **All Of Donna's Christmases  
**Characters:** 10th Doctor, Donna Noble.  
**Synopsis:** Donna takes a trip down memory lane as she remembers all of her previous Christmases with some help from the Doctor and a mysterious hallway. Set between _Planet Of The Ood_ and _The Sontaran Stratagem_.

"I thought you said you hated Christmas?"

It was a simple enough thing for the Doctor to have asked but even he didn't realise that when Donna Noble had her mind set to something, she wasn't going to budge for no-one – Time Lord or not.

"Maybe I've had a change of mind, Spaceman," Donna countered as she looked around the controls of the TARDIS. The Doctor could tell that she wasn't going to give this one up easily. "Oh come on. Please. Just this once."

"I don't know," the Doctor said, ruffling his own hair and really regretting even putting the suggestion in her head. "Okay, fine but only this once and no sneak peaks into the future, alright?"

"I can cope with that, Martian Boy," Donna smiled her cheekiest of smiles as she headed for the door and stepped outside.

"I keep telling you, I'm not from Mars, Donna," the Doctor sighed, even though he knew Donna was only calling him Martian Boy to wind him up.

"And I take it, neither is this place," Donna said, a trace of disappointment tinged in her voice. "Not exactly festive is it – a room full of doors?"

"It's behind the doors where the festivities lie, Donna," the Doctor said as he took her hand and placed it on the first door they had encountered. "1972."

"You what?" Donna was confused before realising that the number appeared on the door appeared on the door when the Doctor placed her hand on it. "Oh, very funny, Spaceman. I guess there's no point about lying about my age here, is there?"

"Not a single one," the Doctor smiled as Donna reluctantly opened the door and stepped inside with the Doctor swiftly following her in. "This should be interesting."

It was the Christmas of 1972 and Donna could smell the roasting of a turkey. Both her mother and father, Sylvia and Geoffrey Noble were preparing Christmas lunch while as a six month old baby, Donna could see that she was being held by her grandfather, Wilfred as her grandmother, Eileen cooed over her. The very image took Donna aback as the Doctor placed his hand on her shoulder for support.

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked as he could see Donna entranced her first memory of Christmas. "I mean it's not every day you get to remember from literally something as a baby."

"I'm fine," Donna smiled but there was a tiny streak of a tear coming down from her eye. "I suppose we should see the rest of them, eh?"

"Donna, it's up to you," the Doctor said as they stepped outside of the door marked 1972 and then looked at the row of doors marked from 1973 up to and including 2008. "You can see all of your Christmases at once."

"We could be here all day," Donna joked as she wiped away the tear from the tear from her cheek. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."

"You wanted this, Donna," the Doctor said as softly as he could. "We can go back in the TARDIS right now and I can take us to the first Christmas in the universe or maybe even the last. It's your choice."

"Okay, then, let's continue with what we came here to do, Spaceman," Donna replied, turning to face the Doctor. "I wanted to remember all of my Christmases so far and that's what we're going to do. Hold on tight, Skinny Man, it's my turn to show you some moments in time."

Without saying another word, the Doctor and Donna then spent ages going through the remainder of the doors that displayed all of Donna's Christmases. The both of them laughed during Donna's years of Nativity plans where she ended up as everything in them but the Virgin Mary, while questioning some of her earlier choices in men, fashions and some of her teenage tantrums as well as the odd year or so in her mid twenties where she thought going on all girls holiday to Ibiza with Veena and the gang was a better choice than the usual Christmas fare.

However, even traipsing through all those doors and even reliving the Christmas where she had first met the Doctor, learned about Lance's deceit and even managed to survive a giant spider, it was the last door that Donna hesitated with and the Doctor was quick to see her unease.

"You don't have to do this, Donna," the Doctor said calmly. For a moment, it looked like Donna was going to head that advice but in the end, her mind had been made up.

"I think I'll look at this one on my own, Doctor."

"Okay," the Doctor smiled reassuringly at her. "I'll wait right here."

Donna stepped inside the door that had been marked 2008 and looked inside. It was exactly as she remembered it. Months had passed since her father had died and the tension between Donna and her mother had been like an edge of a knife at times. It had been Wilfred who had kept the peace but Donna remembered there had been a moment during this memory that had previously escaped her.

While Donna and her grandfather had been talking quietly amongst themselves, Sylvia had slipped out of the house for an hour. Donna chose to see what her mother was doing, following her as quickly as she could before realising that she in the graveyard as her mother was praying over Geoffrey Noble's grave. Donna absorbed the moment but before she knew it, she was back in the TARDIS and the Doctor had come to her with two cups of cocoa in his hands, one of which he offered to her.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" the Doctor asked serenely as both them were now sitting on the hard ground of the spaceship.

"Yes," Donna answered, before she took a sip of her cocoa. "You didn't have to but thank you. I just needed to know that one thing. That little moment from Christmas. Not the happiest of moments but I still needed to know."

"I can understand that," the Doctor sympathised. "Still, I think we should make a new Christmas memory, don't you?"

"What have you got in mind, Spaceman?" Donna sounded curious as the Doctor got up and headed towards the controls. When she raised her eyebrows in curiosity, the Doctor flashed her his cheesiest of smiles in response.

"Oh, just you wait and see, Donna Noble. You haven't seen all of your Christmases yet."

- The End -


End file.
